Wet weather greets thousands attending the V Festival
Liverpool man appears in court charged with Meole Brace murder
Family of missing farmer 'overwhelmed' by offers of help with harvest
Shropshire wildlife trust given £1m to teach conservation skills to young people
Updates on Friday 19 August 2016
A Liverpool man is scheduled to appear before Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday, charged with the murder of Michael Warham in Meole Brace at the start of the month.
Declan Graves, who is 19, made an appearance before Telford magistrates this morning and will be held in custody until this next appearance.
Nicola Beckford
Reporter, BBC Midlands Today
It's August, it's not particularly warm, it's wet and it's muddy - welcome to V Festival at Weston Park.
The three-day event at Weston Park is the biggest in the West Midlands and attracts tens-of-thousands of visitors.
Roads around the site have been getting busy since early this morning.
V Festival being set up
BBC Midlands Today
The family of a farmer missing for two months have said they have been "overwhelmed" by the generosity of the public.
Andrew Green, 33, was last seen driving away from Yew Tree Farm in Chorley, Shropshire, on 22 June.
His distraught parents, Edward and Julie, who appealed for help to find him, have since received offers via social media to help bring in the harvest.
Missing farmer plea: 'Not knowing is killing us'
Tim Wedgwood
BBC Local LIve
A police officer's been taken to hospital after their marked motorbike collided with a car near the V Festival at Weston Park, external today.
Image source, GoogleStaffordshire Police say it was around 09:00 on Watling Street and both officer and the woman driving the Fiat 500 were treated by paramedics.
The force says their injuries aren't thought to be serious and an investigation's now under way into what happened.
Firefighters were out last night, dealing with a fire in a barn near Alveley which contained around 500 tonnes of straw.
It took them just over an hour to put out and they are still there this morning, making sure it's safe.
Image source, Shropshire Fire and Rescue ServiceNational League side Barrow sign Shrewsbury Town defender Dominic Smith on loan until January.
Read MoreA reminder if you're on the roads this afternoon. Other arrangements are in place on the M54 and A41 today.
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Tom Turrell
BBC Midlands Today
Some of the items stolen from police forces in the West Midlands have been recovered over the past five years.
When thieves made off with a blue flashing lamp, officers in Warwickshire managed to get it back.
But cops in our region haven't always been so lucky. When four horses were pinched from West Mercia Police the thieves got away scot-free.
Whether items were retrieved or not, some people are already asking whether the boys and girls in blue need to be a little more careful with their own property.
Tom Turrell
BBC Midlands Today
Handcuffs, emergency vehicles and more than a £100,000 in cash - all items stolen from the police in our region in the last few years.
The figures were released as part of a Freedom of Information request and the items were taken from both individual officers on the beat and police stations.
We'll have a fuller look at what's been taken, from which force and reaction to the news, on Midlands Today from 13:30 on BBC One.
Alexandra Hamilton
BBC Weather
An early yellow weather warning for wind has been issued for Saturday., external
The Met Office says there may be gusts of 40-45mph which have the potential to cause disruption to travel and outdoor activities.
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With the wet weather expected to remain tomorrow, here's a reminder from the police.
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Tom Turrell
BBC Midlands Today
Nine bikes from the West Midlands force, a sat nav in West Merica and a lap top in Staffordshire are among the items stolen from police across the region. They are bound to raise an eyebrow among many.
Their value ranges from a few pounds to tens of thousands of pounds. "But," I hear you ask, "how on earth could all this property go missing from under the noses of officers?"
In the case of the £113,000 stolen from within the bowels of the Warwickshire force HQ, the answer is, despite a court hearing, nobody knows.
Image source, ThinkstockYou can see more on this story on Midlands Today, BBC One, at 13:30 and 18:30.
Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire
These are our headlines this lunchtime:
- Liverpool man charged with Meole Brace murder
- Family of missing farmer offered help to bring in the harvest
- Thousands arrive at Weston Park for V Festival
A man is charged with the murder of a 16-year-old boy in Shropshire.
Read More
Alice Bentley
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
This weekend's V Festival at Weston Park should be low on crime, external, according to police.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceOver 90,000 people are expected at the event over the weekend and Staffordshire Police say they will have uniformed and plain-clothed officers on site during the event.
Quote MessageIt is rare at the V Festival - we do get some tents broken into, not very many at all, and we do get some vehicles broken into. If you come to the festival, your chances of becoming a victim of crime are very slim."
Elliott Sharrard-Williams, Supt with Staffordshire Police
Shrewsbury Town have only picked up one point out of nine in their opening three league fixtures and are yet to score a goal - but midfielder Ian Black isn't panicking.
He believes that once the first goal is scored, more will come and that there is enough quality in the squad.
Image source, Getty ImagesShrewsbury play Chesterfield this weekend.
Quote MessagePeople will be questioning the strikers, but we've created the opportunities, it's just finding that edge to slot it in."
Ian Black, Shrewsbury Town
James Fanning
Reporter, BBC Shropshire
A family from Madeley will be appearing on this Sunday's episode of Robot Wars, on BBC Two
Ellis Ware designed and built Pulsar in nine weeks with the help of his parents.
Image source, Ellis WareEllis is entirely self-taught in the art of engineering, which he learned from watching online tutorials.
Image source, Grant CooperAlexandra Hamilton
BBC Weather
There's not going to be much let-up in the wet weather today, although it might clear for a while late in the evening.
And bad news for everyone at V Festival this weekend - the rain will continue on Saturday.
Weather for the West Midlands.
BBC Travel
If you're not travelling to the V Festival this morning, the police are advising you to avoid the Weston Park area, because the traffic remains slow there.
Both the A5 and the A41 are busy, heading into the site.
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The family of a farmer missing for two months say they are "overwhelmed" by offers of help to bring in their harvest.
Read More